Have you ever found yourself swept away by the intoxicating thrill of setting goals that may be overly ambitious, only to question later if it is aligned with your overarching “why” or if it was set more as a vanity goal? While the goal may be achievable, is it a goal that is truly fulfilling? I must confess I've fallen into this trap recently, especially when juggling my commitment to publishing podcasts while still being there for my clients and family. I had to step back to look at my goal to reach 100 podcast episodes before the end of the year. Come on, Friend, let’s explore the alluring tap of overly ambitious goals and finding balance.
A Personal Journey into Overambition
Yes, I must admit I was too ambitious with my content creation goal. Do you set goals that may be overly ambitious out of pure excitement? Well, this was me with the number of podcasts I could publish consistently and finding balance to be present for my clients and family.
This was my thought; it will be so cool to have 100 podcasts before the end of the year. It’s doable. Totally doable cause I set the alluring ambitious goal only looking at the numbers and not considering the possible effects.
I kinda wish I could tell you this was the first time I’d done this, but it would be a lie, and most of the time, I’ll push through because I set the goal. Ask my husband, I’m stubborn. What happens to me when I do this instead of enjoying the progress toward the goal? Suddenly, it is a box that I need to check off, no longer a goal I feel aligned with. I’ll go through the motions not with excitement but with dread. I have a hard time throwing in the towel. I’ll tell myself you can do this, and I’ll run myself ragged.
A Quick Recap From Last Week
I touched on this briefly last week in episode 17. On the point of knowing how much organic content you can create without feeling overwhelmed. Friend, this question is so very important. It will vary for each of us. We all have different things on our plates.
I discovered really quickly that putting out three podcasts a week, while doable, was causing me to say “no” to things that I wanted to say “yes” to. Seriously, my ambition gets the best of me sometimes.
I’ve had enough failed attempts at creating consistent pillar content that I know my sweet spot is one piece of organic content a week. This is the right amount to allow me to find a balance between running a business and my family. I ignored this when setting my goal of 100 episodes before the end of 2023.
I thought no big deal, I’ll batch record and have my VA handle everything else. Well, until something happened to the recordings, eight episodes of batch work were gone. Well, not gone exactly; I sounded like a super fast-talking chipmunk. Let’s say I was in complete horror when I found this out, just as we are getting into one of our busiest times this year, graduation time. My three kids are graduating from either college or high school this month.
Are you sitting on the edge of your seat, wondering about my reaction?
Of course, you are wondering, LOL.
At first, I cried a little frustrated with myself. Oh, and believe me, at one point, I would have pushed through and batch-recorded all eight of them again. With the thought, no big deal, I can find time.
But you see, that “time” that I’d be required to find would cause me to say “no” to a lot of important things we have going on right now. Only to say “yes” to my overly ambitious goal.
You may not be impressed with me, but I truly was. Instead of batch recording them again, I asked myself what is the lesson here? What is the message that God is sending me? I stepped back to look for my message; everything happens for a reason, am I right?
Is this goal aligned with my why?
Asking this question tends to give me insight when I set or want to set overly ambitious goals. Sometimes I’m selfish and want to do things for vanity or what I’ll receive in return.
We are not intended to serve ourselves in this life. We have been given specific gifts from God to help serve one another.
For this reason, I had to step back, reflect on my overly ambitious goals, and find a balance that allowed me to say “yes” to the things that truly mattered.
Was it hard? Yes, I feel the desire creep in,100% I do.
However, I set the goal without sitting down and determining if it would be realistic and achievable with everything I’ve already committed to this year.
Do I feel out of integrity, going back and changing only after a short period of time? Yes, a little. But, this goal in only a few weeks infringed on my overarching why: to create an impact while being present for my family.
The Lure of Overly Ambitious Goals
Oh, yes, they bring feelings of exhilaration when setting goals with high aspirations. C’mon, you know that feeling when you totally crush a goal that has been working hard to achieve?
You can already feel the joy that will come when the dream of accomplishing that extraordinary goal is a reality. All the atta girls you’ll get from your clients, friends, or family members only reinforce the desire to set overly ambitious goals. There is one small problem when these types of goals are made from a space; it would be so cool without thinking through how they will impact finding balance for the things that truly matter.
The Reality Check: Juggling Clients, Family, and Ambitious Goals
The initial enthusiasm will start to wear off, and the mounting pressure of meeting aggressive deadlines will force you to say no to the things you want to say yes to. In the end, this realization will be the reality check to help make the hard decision of letting go of this goal.
The Turning Point: Acknowledging the Need for Change
Let me tell you; it takes a whole bucketful of courage to look at yourself in the mirror and say, “Hey, I think I bit off more than I can chew.” You see, there's a certain charm in admitting that you've been overly ambitious – it’s kind of like eating a whole pan of warm, gooey, fresh rice crispy bars by yourself; initially, it seems like a great idea until you're halfway through, and the guilt of keeping them all for yourself kicks in. That's when you know it's time to quit while you're ahead and share it with your family.
Pause, and reevaluate your priorities. It's about taking a long, hard look at your why and asking, “Is this goal truly in alignment with my why or is it more of a vanity metric?”
And sometimes, it's about admitting that it wasn’t completely thought through it was a goal made from excitement, just like my 100 episodes.
Finding Balance and Redefining Success
You know, there's a certain finesse involved in setting realistic goals. Not every goal is a good goal to strive for, yes, they should challenge you, but not to the point where you’re overwhelmed and questioning what the heck you were thinking setting this goal.
It is okay to step back and readjust the goal to be a little less ambitious so that you have the space to say yes to the things that matter and the people that matter.
The ongoing pursuit of balance, growth, and happiness
I’m guessing we both want to pursue all the goals that grow us personally and our businesses. If you find yourself in the future contemplating if your goal is a little on the ambitious side or if it is simply stretching you.
- Be sure to sleep on goal; heck, you may even need a week.
- Circle back on the goal and ask yourself the following questions for a better gauge.
- Is this goal in alignment with my why?
- If I say yes to this goal, will I have enough bandwidth to be present for my family, clients, and potential growth opportunities that may come up?
- What is driving my desire to set this overly ambitious goal?
- Am I realistically able to achieve this goal in this time frame, with all my prior commitments?
- Will setting this goal allow me to maintain balance in my life?
It’s important to clearly understand what you want to achieve and what steps you need to take to get there. However, it's equally important to recognize that you can't do everything. As much as we want to, our goal must be prioritized and either let go of, the end date readjust or moved out to a future start date.
If you struggle with a goal, remember it is okay to reevaluate and redirect. As a busy online business owner, you have enough going on without the added stress of an overly ambitious goal.Heck, if you’re looking to Find Balance in your life and business, I invite you to download my free resource, Find Balance.
Thank you so much for reading, friend; I hope this was helpful. I appreciate you, and I hope you have a wonderful week.
